


Littlest Things

by racheltuckerrr



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Ficlet, Fluff, Prompt Fill, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2018-09-24 04:05:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9699749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/racheltuckerrr/pseuds/racheltuckerrr
Summary: A collection of short prompts, mostly from Tumblr.





	1. Terrible Patient

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt “Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?”  
> For Lauren, for her birthday.

Cat was sick.

It’s been going on for exactly two days, but the situation was already reaching apocalyptic proportions. Because Cat didn’t get sick. Ever.

Well, not _ever_ ever like Kara, but she was extremely careful and particular about these things, so it was definitely an unusual occurrence. And inconvenient. For _everyone_.

Kara had moved in to the penthouse less than a month ago, and even though it was a big adjustment, they soon found a balance that worked for both Grants as well as the latest addition to their little family. Until now. Because Kara had never actually seen Cat be ill before. It was brand new, and apparently deadly dangerous territory, even for a superhero. Things were thrown and insults were in generous supply, and even if Kara knew that they weren’t exactly directed at her, it was hard to stay the model of cheer when her girlfriend was so miserable and so _mean_.

Carter was a big help, but there was only so much he could do since his pleas to stay home from school and look after her mom went, sadly, but not at all unexpectedly, unanswered. So here Kara was, alone, with a very grumpy Cat to take care of, who was getting snappier and snottier by the hour. The last time she went to check on her other half, she was told in no uncertain terms to ‘get the hell out and leave the sick and wounded to their deaths’. Bit overdramatic, in Kara’s opinion, since all she had was the common cold, but that was Cat.

As for the moment, she just finished preparing a home-made chicken soup, courtesy of Eliza’s old family recipe and quite a lot of secondhand help on the phone, and it was finally done. She just hoped it would be enough to soothe the other woman, or at least make her see that all Kara wanted to do was take care of her.

“Is it safe to enter?” she asked, balancing a tray in one hand, while the other was already reaching for the doorknob.

“There’s only one way to find out,” came the muffled reply and Kara figured it was as much of an invitation as she was likely to get, so she took it.

She opened the door and what she found on the other side tore at her heartstrings. Cat was huddled under half the blankets of the entire household, which was a _lot_ , with an enormous pile of dirty tissues thrown across the floor near the bed. Kara would be the first to attest that on any other day Cat was larger than life itself, but in that moment she looked so small and so utterly… _human_.

“I come bearing gifts,” Kara tried, but only got a half-hum, half-whimper in response.

She sighed, placing the tray on the nightstand for later and cautiously approached the queen sized bed and its occupant, and sat down at Cat’s feet.

“So how do you _really_ feel?” she dared, finding a small foot under the myriad of blankets and taking it in both of her hands to try and share a bit of her warmth. It must have worked, because the lump under the blankets seemed to be gravitating towards her, even if the voice was still muffled and distant.

“Snotty,” Cat sniffed loudly, as if to prove a point. “ _Disgusting_.”

Kara opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted before she even had the chance.

“Don’t,” Cat tried to sit up, but only managed it halfway and peered up at Kara from behind a curtain of messy, dirty blonde hair. How she still managed to look even slightly commanding was beyond Kara. “Don’t you _dare_ tell me I’m beautiful right now.”

“I wasn’t going to,” she stated solemnly, “but only because I know you wouldn’t believe me.”

“You were still thinking it,” came the stubborn reply. But seeing that Cat’s mood was closer to utter and complete exhaustion than anything else, Kara took that as an incentive to crawl in next to her lover and give in to the closeness that she knew would ultimately make them both feel better.

“I’m _always_ thinking it,” she smiled softly because it was the truth, as she swept a sweaty curl out of Cat’s face. In spite of herself, the corner of Cat’s mouth twisted upwards, even as her eyes remained closed, enjoying the attention.

“Wait a minute,” Kara teased in a singsong voice, “have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?”

Maybe it was pushing her luck, but judging by the arms that stretched across her back to pull her in closer and Cat’s leg sneaking between her own to seek out her warmth, Kara’s luck was still holding just fine.

“Shut up and hold me, Supergirl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was tempted to have the title of this one be 'Grumpy Cat' but with respect to the lady herself I decided to control myself. Barely.


	2. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fix-it for the end of 2x12. Kara has a late night visitor alright, but it's no dudebro.

By the time she’s finally home, all Kara can do is slump down on the couch, curl herself up into a tight ball and hug her knees to her chest. There is nothing like a close call and an empty house to come home to afterwards, to remind her how miserable she’s been feeling lately, how so completely and utterly alone.

Seeing Alex’s happiness is a small comfort when Kara can’t even bring herself to be happy for her sister, at least not completely and without reservation, in the way that she would expect herself to be, and it only makes her feel more guilty.

Not to mention Mon-El and his constant niggling presence right on the edges of Kara’s life, just waiting for the right moment to slip in through the cracks in her armour. And it bothers her, because despite the seemingly popular opinion to the contrary, she knows he’s not what she really wants.

Because _who_ she wants more than anything is so ridiculously unattainable that it hurts more than it does anything else to even think about it, and on some level she must feel compelled to examine the choices that she feels are available to her, to fill the weight of her loneliness.

And especially faced with the reality of her sister’s flourishing new relationship, it’s hard to keep waiting around for something that will most likely never happen, and it hurts so much that she actually entertains the idea of calling him over for a second. But just one. Because it instantly feels wrong to even consider it, when it’s so clearly not what’s in her heart, so she dismisses the idea as soon as it comes.

Her thoughts get interrupted however when she suddenly hears a loud banging on the door and Kara whimpers at the thought of having to face the person from whom she’s trying to escape. What she finds on the other side though, is anything but.

“ _Cat?_ ” Kara asked, so dazed that she completely forgets her shyness about calling the older woman by her first name. Even though she was given explicit permission. Several times, in fact.

“Are you okay, are you hurt, I have no idea how you could have possibly survived that blast today, you really are an alien…” is rushed out in a single breath, hazel eyes frantically searching for something in Kara’s face and she must have found what she was looking for because Cat Grant is suddenly pushing past her and into her apartment and all Kara can do is stand there with her mouth hanging open.

“I’m sorry w-what? Miss Grant, you’re mistaken I’m not who you think –“

“Cut the crap, Kara, you almost _died_ today!” Cat yells, voice unsteady and breaking at the end. It’s the most out of control Kara’s ever seen her and it gives her pause before the actual words sink in. And she must look as flabbergasted as she feels because Cat stops for a second to grace the young hero with a full blown signature Grant eye roll, and honestly, it’s been _too long_. “I know about the explosion,” she says, eyes flashing.

Kara lets her shoulders sag as the fight visibly runs out of her. Maybe it’s time.

“Is there any point in asking you _how_?”

“A good journalist always protects her source,” Cat smirks and Kara finds herself mouthing the words along with her, having heard them so many times before. Kara sighs, shaking her head. Some things never change.

“I’m okay,” she lies through her teeth, and even if she wasn’t such a bad liar, Cat would never believe her because she _always_ knows.

“Are you?” Cat calls her out on it, as Kara knew she would. There is no point in answering that question because they both know she isn’t. She hasn’t been ‘okay’ in a very long time. But then again, Cat is here now and she still hasn’t let that sink in.

Kara raises her head to look the other woman in the eye, and take her in properly, for the first time in months. Her hair is a bit longer, skin a little tanner than the last time she’s seen her, but the skirt is just as tight on her hips as always, hugging her in just the right way that makes Kara’s mouth water. To the untrained eye, she just looks healthy and beautiful, and like someone who just came back from a long vacation. Kara knows better.

She can see the worry lines and the sleep deprivation and the caring, genuine concern and she wonders just how many favours Cat had to cash in to get here as quickly as she did after _however_ she managed to get wind of what happened. Despite all that though, even at eleven pm at night, Cat is a sight to behold and Kara feels her heart clench.

However, it seems like they are at a stalemate, with Cat standing in the middle of Kara’s apartment, refusing to budge while Kara still holds on to the open door, for support or desperation she doesn’t know. But it’s been four months and she can’t keep pretending anymore, not with Cat finally within reaching distance. It’s all too much to feel at once, and she wants to reach out, do something, _anything_ , but her feet refuse to move and she stays rooted to the spot, her lips trembling as she finally starts to break down.

“ _Cat,_ ” is all she manages, her voice barely a breath of a whisper, but it’s enough.

“Oh, darling…” In the blink of an eye Cat is there and she takes Kara’s face in her palms, and her hands are suddenly everywhere, fingers combing through Kara’s messy hair, feather light touches collecting the tears that run down her cheeks without her consent, firm arms steadying her as her whole body shakes. Everything that’s happened these past few months finally catches up with her and Kara is helpless in the face of her own powerful emotions, leaving her raw and vulnerable and utterly spent. It’s been a long time coming and she doesn’t know how she’s even lasted this long.

But through it all Cat is there to soften the blow and soothe the ache in her soul, filling the cracks with her tender attention and Kara has no words for how much she’s missed her. Cat takes her hand and leads Kara to her bed, sitting her down while she checks her for injuries, never quite satisfied until she’s seen the truth for herself. Her touch feels like a benediction and Kara leans into it without a second thought.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” she sniffles into a soft shoulder when Cat settles down on the bed next to her. “But I need you too much right now to question it.”

“Then don’t,” Cat says simply, stroking Kara’s cheek with the palm of her hand. “You’ve been so brave, Kara, so strong,” Cat breathes. “I’ve never been prouder of anyone in my life,” she says it with so much reverence and something inside of Kara breaks.

“ _Please_ , Cat” she chokes.

She whimpers as Cat kisses her softly, taking Kara’s bottom lip between her own, running her tongue lightly along Kara’s lips and they both moan at the sensation. After a few minutes of gentle kisses and a half-whispered promise of more to come later, Cat draws Kara down under the blankets and takes the battered hero into the circle of her arms, laying her head on Cat’s chest, right over her steadily beating heart. It feels like coming home, in more ways than one.

Whatever conflicting feelings Kara has that made her react so violently will not be solved overnight and Cat can see that she is struggling, as clearly as she can see that denying this thing between them is no longer an option. Whatever hardships they have to overcome, they will do so together. Because now that she has Kara in her arms, she vows not to let go of her ever again.

Not for anything.


	3. Game Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I combined two prompts and this is the result. One of them was "First Game Night with Cat or first kiss" and the other was "Kara introduces Cat and Carter to her family and friends".   
> Enjoy!

The whole thing starts while Cat is away on her so called adventure.

Thinking back now, it seems strange that there seemed to be so many sporadic Supergirl sightings in the most prominent capital cities around the world while Kara had a day job in National City, but a practised flicker of a hand and some excuse about needing to clear her head was usually enough to dissuade the attention. Because really, she was a superhero. If she wanted to play private jet to herself and travel the world in her downtime it was her business and her right to do so.

That is, until she disappears for a week and other than a none too reassuring text telling her not to worry, Alex doesn’t so much as hear from her in the span of that time. A dozen phone calls a day and a promise of her favourite pizza from Rome waiting for her at home and still nothing. After the fifth day Alex starts leaving frantic voicemails and two days later she opens the window in her apartment to a gust of wind, only to find her sister standing there with Cat Grant in her arms. And suddenly she’s being properly introduced to the woman for the first time and she calls herself Kara’s girlfriend. If not for years of DEO training, Alex is pretty sure she would’ve fainted on the spot. And if that’s down to her relief over Kara being back safe and sound or the new piece of information she just discovered, well, that remains a mystery even to one Alex Danvers.

 

* * *

 

Though Kara personally never mentions her new relationship status to the detective, she’s correct in her assumption that after the incident with Alex, she can cross Maggie off her list of people to tell as well.

 

* * *

 

“ _THE_ _Cat Grant?_ ”

“Yes. The one and only,” Kara sighs, balancing the phone between neck and shoulder while she opens the fridge for the third time in a row, hoping that a miracle happened in the meantime.

“ _The woman who’s been mostly nothing but mean to you since the day she hired you as her assistant?_ ”

“I wouldn’t say she was-“

“ _The woman you wouldn’t shut up about because ‘she inspires me so much, Eliza’ that woman?_ ”

“Yes.”

The silence on the other end is more terrifying than the prospect of fighting an alien convict without her powers and Kara waits.

“ _Yes, I’d love to meet her, and her son. For real this time._ ”

The sigh that escapes the young blonde is enough to blow all the heavy books she keeps on the coffee table all over the living room floor, but she couldn’t care less.

 

* * *

 

Winn and James are supposed to be eased into it over the course of an upcoming Game Night at Kara’s place, which, incidentally is coming up the next weekend. Cat wants the satisfaction of seeing the complete dumbfounded shock on their faces, because of course she does, and so she makes Kara promise not to tell.

And she tries her best, she really does, but one day before she manages to blurt it out to Winn anyway, and she doesn’t even realise it until it’s too late. They’re at the DEO and she’s standing behind him at his desk, catching up, and it just casually slips out, because Cat is a part of her life now, a big part, and it’s hard to keep reminding herself why she needs to hit the brakes when she feels the sudden overpowering need to gush about her girlfriend. And maybe she doesn’t, because Winn’s expression stays the same, and for a moment Kara actually believes she’s going to get away with it until he breaks out laughing, damn near hysterical, telling Kara what a comedian she is.

The blonde hero reaches up to adjust the glasses that aren’t on her face, a nervous tick she still hasn’t quite managed to shake despite Cat’s numerous warnings that it’s the first thing that will ultimately give her away, and she very wisely chooses to walk away. This is a battle for another day, namely, this Saturday evening.

But then she finds herself face to face with a knowing look on a kind alien face and she feels the blush starting in her cheeks and quickly spreading all over her entire body. She never even considered telling J’onn because of course he would know, and Kara trusts him not to say anything until the time came. They share a rare look of complete understanding and he gives her a nod and a smile and that’s that.

 

* * *

 

Suffice it to say, Winn gets the surprise of his life when he walks into Kara’s apartment, James in tow, and finds his jaw permanently dropped to the floor at the sight of his former boss standing in the middle of Kara’s miniscule kitchen, with a wooden spoon in hand and a flowery apron around her waist as if she’s done this a million times before. Maybe she has.

It doesn’t help matters when Alex waltzes in shortly after them, tugging Maggie along with her by the hand to greet her sister, and leaving the two of them to catch up while she walks up to Cat and plants a kiss on her cheek as a hello. Maggie joins them later and offers a fistbump and a quiet alliance, formed by the shared knowledge of the cosmic weight it holds to open your life up to a Danvers woman. The two of them get along frighteningly well after that, and it’s hard to tell if they’ve met before or if it’s the hundredth time already.

Cat ushers them off to play without her while she puts the finishing touches on a dinner that is remarkably delicious and when Alex mentions that later, all she gets in response is a raised eyebrow and an unspoken ‘did you expect anything less?’ and she shrugs before hopping off her chair and locating the hidden stash of bourbon as a piece offering.

Things seem to flow after that and even Winn picks himself back up again enough to whine about getting his ass kicked in Taboo. Carter is content keeping score while Cat and Kara dominate the game with the ease of a couple who’s been around each other long enough to become unbeatable, though Alex and Maggie are not the types to give up easily and the two guys soon find themselves sitting at the kitchen counter having finally accepted defeat.

“I can’t believe I’m having game night with Cat Grant,” Winn muses and James only chuckles in response.

“Did she tell you?”

“No, she didn’t,” James answers calmly. “But now I can see why.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well how did you take it when she told you?” he asked with a knowing look.

“Exactly,” James says when his question is greeted only by silence. “I guess I wouldn’t have taken it any better,” comes the reluctant admission. “But now that I see them together it makes sense.”

And so it does. Maybe not in the obvious, guy gets the girl at the end of the movie kinda way, but nobody’s perfect and they’re still learning to mould themselves into shapes that can fit the truth and be comfortable to live in at the same time. It’s a process, but it’s the best they can do for now. And looking over at the two pair of women who are so completely caught up in the final round of their competition that they don’t seem to register anything of what goes on around them, it’s easy to imagine this being the new normal. And that, more than anything, is a start.

 

* * *

 

“Alright, ladies and… _women_ ,” Carter stumbles a little before carrying on, “I believe this is the last point that will determine…who…wins…the competition.” He frowns at himself. “I gotta keep working on my delivery.”

“You’re doing fine sweetheart,” Cat chimes from her place next to Kara on the couch. “And I say bring it!”

“May the best couple win,” Maggie joins in, nudging Alex’s shoulder sweetly.

“Oh, we will,” Cat whispers as she leans into Kara.

They’ve been purposefully keeping the touching and general flirtyness to a possible minimum, in the interest of making it easier on the others to adjust, but as the night goes on and the lines begin to blur, it seems natural that they gravitate towards each other in the only way they know how, and besides, none of the others seems to mind or even pay attention. At least until Kara stands up to draw the last card of the evening, a smug smirk stretching across her cheek instantly.

“That movie you hate so m-“

“ _Love Actually_ ,” Cat cuts her off with a snort and doesn’t even wait for confirmation, snatches Kara into her arms and kisses her deeply, right in front of her family and friends, as Carter sounds the bell that signals the end of the competition. And maybe, just maybe, the beginning of something too.


	4. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Kara accidentally rips Cat's favorite dress and Cat gets her revenge by wearing outfits that she knows drives her girlfriend crazy, throughout the week. (Bonus point if Kara is still Cat's assistant so she has no choice but be at Cat's side all day long)"

Cat stands in front of the mirror in her private bathroom suite at CatCo and frowns at the ruined fabric. It’s _Armani_. And missing one button too many to pass off as just being one of her more rebellious days. The memory of Kara’s hands on that shirt, and then under it and all over her upper body are still fresh in her mind, and so are the nail marks she already feels pulling deliciously at her flesh and she sighs as she resigns herself to a quick bathroom change. One thing is for certain. Kara is going to pay for this.

 

* * *

 

And she does. Cat makes sure of it. For an entire _week_. Because Cat Grant is nothing if not a dramatic asshole with a penchance for overkill.

She starts the week off by wearing a little number that she recalls her girlfriend being particularly fond of, something about the length and how it shows off the back of her thighs. It goes without saying that she plays into it by the way she carries herself and Kara comes into her office three times just to walk out again, having completely forgotten why she went in there in the first place. This one might be a slow week for productivity, but what it lacks in efficiency, will definitely make up for in the entertainment department and Cat can barely wait to go home and pick out her outfit for the next day.

Her choice happens to be a long-forgotten pair of tight fitting leather pants and her favourite Prada heels that make her legs look even more amazing than usual, and she pairs it off with a form hugging white shirt and a necklace with a medal that rests right between the valley of her breasts. For no particular reason. It’s an uncharacteristically uneventful day at the office, so it’s really a happy accident that her assistant keeps providing entertainment in the form of knocking things over in her haste to jump out of her seat each time Cat calls her. And after the fifth time she’s mostly ready to admit to herself that maybe she doesn’t need yet another copy of the Daily Planet’s latest column on the Most Influential Rap Artists of the 21st Century. She asks for one anyway, and secretly delights in watching Kara squirm under the intense gaze Cat keeps directing her way.

Wednesday morning finds Cat in a meeting and it physically pains her to refrain from rolling her eyes right back into her skull when the male board members keep staring at her breasts in a way they think is discrete, but she has to settle on a much too theatrical yawn instead. They _do_ own considerable shares of her company, but it’s no fun to see them fawn over her when the one person she really wants to see drool about her look is nowhere in sight. Cat is well aware that Supergirl is handling a minor emergency across town, but it doesn’t make the waiting any easier. They haven’t seen each other yet today and it takes everything in Cat not to go into her private bathroom, reapply her ‘fuck me red’ lipstick and send a shot to Kara’s phone with her shirt half open. She tells herself that her remarkable self-restraint is the only thing standing between National City and its hero crashing through multiple highrise buildings if she ever opened that message while still in mid-air. The thought brings a smug smile to her face at the very least, and the rest of the meeting somehow seems a tiny bit more bearable.

Still it’s nothing compared to the moment Kara finally stumbles out of the elevator and catches sight of Cat standing at Winn’s desk, barking off orders left and right and pretending not to see the girl who walks right into a door that’s been in that exact spot since the day she started working there two years ago. It’s almost worth the three hours in the conference room that left her backside aching and her neck cramped in all the wrong places. Almost.

“ _Kiera_. My office. Now.”

Cat stalks out onto her balcony and Kara follows her without instruction. Then, the older woman suddenly drops all pretence and for a second Kara thinks she’s free of this personal hell, but then Cat smiles devilishly and beckons Kara closer until her rouge clad lips are touching the outer shell of her ear, and she proceeds to explain to Kara in infinite detail all the things she shouldn’t be thinking about her boss in the middle of a work day no less, and Kara can only blink before she is left alone again, desperately pressing her thighs together, almost afraid to move for fear of combusting on the spot.

The next day Cat storms into the bullpen two hours later than usual, paying no mind to Kara whatsoever, and it has the potential to be a temporary relief to the younger woman, except for the fact that it just seems to be another one in the long line of punishments Cat has set out for her this week. The rest of the day drags on with the speed of an injured snail as Kara has the pleasure of witnessing all manners of business meetings between her boss and numerous smartly dressed businessmen who are also, coincidentally, some of the most eligible bachelors of the corporate world. Cat doesn’t even bat an eye as she keeps faking perfect smile after another, keeping each rendez-vous balanced right at the edge of the delicate line between barely professional and flat out flirting. She _does_ find a few precious moments in the day to peer over to the desk stationed diligently at the entrance of her office when she is certain that Kara doesn’t notice her looking, to make sure her little change in tactic hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated. She’s in no way disappointed by what she sees.  

Even through the clear glass of her office, she doesn’t spare a single thought about who else might be watching, her interest narrowed down squarely onto the single person doing her best to hide the fact that she listens intently to each and every conversation, baby blue eyes practically bulging out of her head between those glasses and Cat has to make an honest to God effort to keep the laugh from bubbling out of her mouth.

The sudden frosty behaviour that Kara can still easily recognise as the well-maintained front that it is, serves as a sharp contrast to the passionate heat the past few days have awakened in her body and by the time Friday rolls around she is literally in shambles. When the elevator opens and Cat steps out, Kara hands her the coffee looking anywhere but at her boss, left hand curling into a fist at her side.

 _Good_ , Cat thinks and deliberately presses her backside against Kara’s front as she makes a show of brushing past her and into her office, torturously slowly, taking her cup of scalding hot latte with her. The cardigan hobbit literally has to shuffle over to Kara and tip her jaw up to close her mouth. It’s more satisfying than hanging up the phone on Donald Trump while he is midsentence, one of her many favourite pastimes. But this one, Cat thinks as she soaks up the hungry expression in Kara’s eyes, _this_ might just become her new favourite.

 

* * *

 

Cat is perched on the bathroom sink with her legs wrapped around Kara’s waist and a strong hand between her thighs and can’t help the loud moan that escapes her, after a week of not letting her girlfriend touch her like they both wanted, but she gathers every little ounce of strength left in her and fists her hands in Kara’s hair to bring her lover’s face level with her own and tell her through gritted teeth, expression deadly serious.

“Don’t you ever, _ever_ rip one of _my_ clothes again.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably don't say this enough, but thank you guys so much for the comments and kind words! Means the world to me.


	5. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.”  
> This is different from my usual fluff-parade. I'm warning you. This is most definitely NOT fluff.

It’s been exactly two months, three weeks, five days and twelve hours since Cat left and Kara is in the middle of yet another petty argument with Mon-El, the two of them shouting at each other across the room in Kara’s office when she hears Cat’s heart stop.

 

* * *

 

There are three sets of beats that Kara would recognize _anywhere_. Three different heartbeats, each unique in their own way and in what they mean to her to hear them beat steadily, signalling that their owner is alive and well.

As a person with significantly better than average hearing, Kara is familiar with the rhythm of all the hearts that belong to the people in her life and can always tell who’s approaching just from that sound alone, but there are a particular three that she keeps engrained in the deepest parts of her soul, because they ground her like nothing else does.

She doesn’t pry, but she does keep careful track of those that she cannot even bear the thought of losing. It rarely ever matters though, because she usually does an adequate job of keeping the people that matter most to her safe. Besides, whenever Alex is in danger, Kara is usually already on the other end of the line, breaking the sound barrier. That, and Eliza is safely tucked away in a lonely house in Midvale, and without Kara there to raise suspicion, it isn’t likely that anyone will ever touch her.

So this little secret of Kara’s is mostly just a private safety measure that she keeps for her own piece of mind. Until one day, it isn’t.

 

* * *

 

It’s not an instant realization, instead it dawns on her rather slowly that the incessant noise in her ear isn’t actually her own heart thundering in righteous fury, but it’s the older woman’s last cry for help as her heart gives out and Kara missed it, because she was too caught up in being mad at a dimwit. Hell hath no fury like a wounded superhero as she rips her shirt open and breaks through the wall that separates her office from the open sky without a second thought. That’s gonna be hard to explain to Cat once Kara finds her. Alive. Because she has to be. The alternative is unimaginable.

Without the familiar sound to guide her in the right direction, she relies solely on instinct and that invisible tether that connects her to the other woman even when they are worlds apart. She finds her in the middle of a jungle in Malaysia, her skin covered with an abundance of little, angry red bitemarks left by something Kara would wager to be poisonous, and apparently, deadly so. She doesn’t stop to consider that as any more than a passing thought as she flies the woman in her arms straight to Alex. She puts her faith, once again, in the only person she trusts to bring the heart of the woman who stole hers long ago back from the world beyond, and hopes it will be enough.

 

* * *

 

It takes seven tries to restart Cat’s heart, and that alone should be a clue, but Alex knows better than to bring that up now, when Kara’s already walked through hell and back, only to be pulled in deeper each minute that passes without Cat giving any sign that she’s still with them. With Kara.  

“Come back to me, Cat” she sighs daily, her new form of prayer. Like many of hers before, it goes unanswered.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s been exactly five months, three weeks, four days and eight hours since Cat left and she’s spent roughly half of that time in a small hospital in the middle of nowhere, where she was taken in as a Jane Doe, in the interest of keeping the prying world, and even those closest to Cat, including her sons, blissfully unaware. Because she has still yet to regain consciousness. For two and a half months. The clearly incompetent doctors say she most likely never will either, but that is simply unacceptable, so as with a lot of other inconvenient truths revealed to her lately, Kara opts to ignore it.

What she doesn’t ignore, could not ever _possibly_ ignore, even if she tried, is Cat. The woman whose life she dropped into, like a shooting star falling from the sky above, or vice versa, more than two incredibly significant years ago. Cat, who’s been as steadfast in her attempted coldness as she was in providing genuine counsel and encouragement, albeit clothed in half-hearted mockery and the ever present sarcastic undertones. Cat, who’s been there for her in the face of devastating odds, even when most people, including those she considered family, chose to turn away.

Cat, who has come to mean so much more to Kara than she was prepared for, than either of them could have _ever_ anticipated. _Cat_.

Larger than life Cat, in an ugly, disgusting, stuffy little hospital bed that she wouldn’t even go near the vicinity of, if only she had any knowledge or control over her surroundings. But she does _not_. Kara is a great fan of Earth literature, but still fails to appreciate the irony, when all it does is make her want to bawl her eyes out. Her former boss is as fragile and unsubstantial as Kara has ever seen her and it pains her to the bone to even admit it to herself, almost afraid that Cat can somehow sense it and reprimand her, half-hoping that she _will_.

An angry Cat has always been a source of great distress for Kara, and more often than not, her job security as well, but an angry Cat would also mean that she was healthy enough to bother with the admonishment in the first place. An angry Cat would mean an _alive_ one. And as often as Kara wished for just the opposite, she would give her powers _and_ half of her ribcage to see the faintest flicker of rage in Cat’s eyes, even if it was directed at her. _Especially then_.

 

* * *

 

“You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you,” she cries for the hundredth time that day, but it goes unanswered, just like every other time before.

She looks down at herself, crumpled in a ball of agony, her wrinkled suit mocking her in its useless pomp, and she is disgusted by what she sees. Thinks for a fleeting second about how probably Cat would be too, if she ever saw her like this. _Fat chance of that_ , she thinks and cries again instead. Alex tries to drag her away exactly twenty-nine times, but Kara finally snaps and breaks her sister’s nose, and she doesn’t come back after that for a long time.

 

* * *

 

 

It's been seventy-seven days and Kara keeps count because she doesn’t know anything else and because it’s the kind of thing Cat would do.

The days drag on or they fly by, she doesn’t notice. All she knows is the little room that couldn’t possibly hold the entirety of her despair, but also can’t seem to let her go without pulling her back in again. It’s a trap either way and she’s stuck with the woman she just finally started admitting to love. Too little, too _late_.

 

* * *

 

It’s been… _forever_ , since Cat left and ever since then Kara’s life has admittedly been going downhill, but it’s only those two and a half months later that the Girl of Steel finally starts to admit to herself that even the mightiest of heroes can be irreparably broken. That she already has been. And that this time, she might even let it stick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY they made me do it!!! You can go blame Lauren (villainousunsub) for the prompt if you must. And all the rest of them too, that groupchat is EVIL. In all the best ways <3


	6. Revenge Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "cat is traveling for work and keeps sending provocative pictures to kara so she can have a little fun. normally kara would just fly to whenever cat is but now she has to take care of carter (whom she loves very much ofc)"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can consider this a loose continuation of Revenge.

“Mom, for the hundredth time, everything is gonna be fine!” Carter said exasperatedly, grabbing Cat by the shoulders without even having to raise himself up on his toes anymore, since they were almost the same height.

“I know, Carter, I know,” she sighed, taking his face between her palms, eyes suddenly desperate, “ _is_ it though?”

“Moooooom!” the teenager cried and her mother laughed at his antics.

“Alright, alright,” she kissed his forehead. “I’ll stop. I know you and Kara will be just fine without me. Maybe a little _too fine_...”

Cat trailed off, only half-jokingly. It was a Friday and was going away on a business trip for the weekend, leaving her son with her girlfriend for the first time since they’ve been together.

Not that Kara hasn’t looked after Carter _before_. It’s just that in Cat’s mind everything was different now. And so she worried. A lot.

“Don’t worry so much,” Kara said, as if reading Cat’s thoughts as she snuck up on her girlfriend to say goodbye. “And hurry back,” she whispered with a kiss and a suggestive look, just for Cat. “I’ll miss you.”

“Ugh, bye Mom!” came Carter’s reply as he ducked out of the room as fast as he could. He knew them way too well by now, and this goodbye could last anywhere from five minutes up to forty.

Better for him to be elsewhere while that happened.

 

* * *

 

“ _Morning, darling. Just landed in London, hope everything is OK over there. Give my love to Carter. XO”_

Kara smiled warmly at Cat’s text as she lifted the last of the pancakes onto the plate. It hasn’t even been eight hours yet, and she was already checking up on them. It was gonna be a _long_ weekend.

“Buddy, breakfast is ready!” she called out before quickly adding, “if you’re not fast enough there might not be any left to eat though!”

And, like clockwork.

“I’m here, I’m here! And you wouldn’t dare, Kara, super-appetite or not,” he said with a glare that could have been threatening if he wasn’t so goddamn cheerful.

“So let me guess, she called you three times already,” Carter said, rolling his eyes as he took a seat across from Kara.

“You underestimate her sneakiness,” Kara replied over a mouthful of pancakes. “Just a text so far and it was pretty tame, too. She sends her love.”

“Hm, I’m not falling for it,” Carter declared. “She is up to something, Kara.”

“I don’t doubt it,” the hero answered. “Now eat your pancake.”

“Yes ma’am.”

 

* * *

 

Kara is working on her most recent assignment in Cat’s home office, when her phone starts playing that familiar ringtone and she can’t help the smile that crosses her face, even as she does her best to feign annoyance as she answers it.

“You said you wouldn’t worry,” she said, in lieu of a greeting.

“I did _not_ say that, you just told me not to,” Cat answered without missing a beat.

Kara had to smile at that, as she quietly admitted to herself that she did miss her already, even if it’s only been a day so far. She was damned if she would let it show, though.

“We had a deal, Cat,” she said solemnly, determined to stand her ground.

“Yes, about that…how would you feel about renegotiating that deal of ours?” Cat asked with a mischievous edge to her voice that made Kara wonder.

“What do you mean reneg-“

“Check your messages,” Cat quipped the same moment that Kara could hear her phone ping with a notification.

Kara huffed out a frustrated sigh, but she did as she was told and boy, _oh boy_. Was it suddenly getting hot or was she hallucinating the sudden change of temperature?

“… _Kara_?”

“I’m h-here,” she choked, throat suddenly dry.

“So…do we have a deal, darling?” Cat asked, voice smug. Kara could easily understand why.

“S-sure. C-Carter’s fine, he’s actually doing his homework in his room. Everything is f-fine, I promise.”

“Thanks, darling,” Cat said sweetly, before hanging up. “See you.”

All Kara could do was plop down on the couch as she continued to stare at the picture on her phone, mouth open. The one of her stunning girlfriend wearing a purple silk shirt that she knew Kara liked on her so much, hanging open, with all the buttons undone. And _nothing_ underneath.

Not to mention her hair was deliberately mussed and she had a dark, matching shade of lipstick on over those irresistible lips. She had clearly planned this, and Kara had no defences against her.

It was blackmail of the highest order, and it was completely foolproof.

The fool being…well, _Kara_.

 

* * *

 

Cat texted her three more times before lunch, only verbally assaulting her this time, but Kara could swear she was taking flirting to a whole new level with the things she managed to come up with.

This went on in the same fashion and Kara received several provocative pictures over the course of the weekend, each one more daring than the last as Cat was clearly steadfast in her continued efforts to up her own game.

Kara had the pleasure of seeing several pieces of her girlfriend’s lace collection, over various exposed parts of the woman she missed so much. More and more by the minute, actually. Those perfectly sculpted collarbones, the slope of those slender shoulders, the curve of that jaw. But never everything all at once. It was deliciously infuriating and it was slowly, but steadily driving Kara crazy.

By Saturday night, she was ready to fly over there and have her way with Cat, just to teach her a lesson. Well, not _just_.

 

* * *

 

After a night of tossing and turning in the double-bed that seemed way too spacious without Cat there, Kara woke up in sweat, her mind still full of the vivid imagery her sleeping mind has so eagerly provided.

She groaned, when she heard the telltale sound of yet another new message not a moment later.

“ _My plane leaves in five hours. Prepare yourself, darling, because I have PLANS for you tonight_.”

Kara whimpered at the text alone, but then came the predictable illustration to make it even worse. This time, there wasn’t anything covering the familiar body she wanted so much to map with her fingers and tongue and Kara almost crushed the phone in her hands in her effort to refrain from obliterating everything in their bedroom with a burst of her laser vision.

It was going to be the longest five hours of her _life_.


	7. Make Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Come over here and make me."

Kara sighed as she plucked the red marker pen from behind her ear yet again, to correct another mistake she herself never would have made. And definitely not _five_ times in a row. She groaned, but shot up immediately at the low chuckle coming from Cat’s desk, reminding her she wasn’t alone this time.

Even though she wasn’t technically a CatCo employee anymore, let alone her assistant, when Cat asked Kara to come in to the office for the day and lend a hand in editing while she prepared the latest charity gala in Supergirl’s honour, Kara jumped at the chance to be useful and make Cat’s load as much lighter as she possibly could.

They’d been at it for hours now, Cat the perfect image of an overworked CEO with her cat-eyed glasses squarely on her nose while another pair was perched on the crown of her head, that determined look of concentration on her face that Kara loved so much.

Meanwhile, Kara occupied one of the two incredibly comfortable couches in Cat’s office, neatly organized stacks of papers sitting in front of her, with the ‘unedited’ pile thankfully steadily diminishing as the hours grew, until she only had two pieces left to correct.

“Forgot how tiring this can be, did you?” came the amused drawl from the other end of the room.

“Actually, no,” Kara retorted. “That part I do remember. Quite well.”

At Cat’s quirked eyebrow, Kara went on to answer the unasked question. “It’s just working with you that I…I forgot how it felt, to do this together. Or, you know, not _together_ together, but…” she gestured around the room vaguely with her free hand. “I miss it,” Kara shrugged, her tone bittersweet.

It wasn’t a wish or a regret, or even a thought she would have taken the time to consider any other day, it was just a mere fact. Working for Cat had been a pivotal building block of Kara’s life, and despite its many roadblocks she had mostly enjoyed her time as Cat’s assistant, but it had run its course and that was that. It was a brave new world now, for Kara. Daring and diving and all.

Besides, she thought as she answered the soft smile Cat was currently sending her way with one of her own, having Cat in her life in another capacity entirely was proving to be more rewarding than any job could ever hope to be, even here at CatCo. And if she knew one thing, it was that she wouldn’t trade _that_ for anything.

“I know what you mean,” Cat said quietly, long after Kara was still expecting an answer from her. “You know,” Cat chuckled absent-mindedly, making Kara’s heart swell with affection for the woman, “I still find myself looking at that desk and expecting to see that blonde head of yours, more often than not.”

Kara hummed in agreement, catching Cat’s sparkling gaze, knowing from experience, that Pulitzer or not, her eyes always said more than any combination of words ever could. She was not disappointed.

“Alright,” Kara said, making a decision. “That’s enough for today.”

Cat arched an eyebrow in mock-defiance, her body language all but screaming _is it now?_ at Kara without moving more than a single muscle. Kara still hasn’t quite mastered that move yet, but at least she didn’t have to go far if she wanted a mentor in that department. For the moment however, she had other plans.

“ _Cat_ ,” she warned. “We’ve been working for five hours straight. Even you need to stop and relax sometimes,” Kara argued, not quite whining, but not far from it either. They _had_ been working for a long time, especially considering it was a weekend, and truth be told, she just wanted to go home.

“Come over here and make me.”

“I’m s-sorry… _what_?” Kara must have heard that one wrong. She must have.

“You heard me,” came the firm, sultry reply.

“But what about the-“

Cat had rules. Lots of them. Even now, even after Kara no longer worked for her, she _still_ had rules.

No direct PDA in the office, no personal discussions of any kind unless necessary, no calling each other anything other than ‘Cat’ and ‘Kara’, and she only made that allowance because everyone already knew about them and it would’ve been weird for Kara to keep calling her Ms. Grant after that; no _accidental_ touches, no affectionate gazes that turn into a solid fifteen minutes of daydreaming that Cat could not possibly allow herself, no-

“Kara,” Cat’s velvety voice cut through the turmoil of Kara’s thoughts like a Swiss blade, quickly and efficiently, in a no-nonsense fashion. “It’s a Saturday.”

Which was true, Kara realized, and it was more than enough incentive to convince her that Cat was actually serious. Ever the dutiful partner, she jumped up from the couch, suddenly energized, and all but ran over to a snickering Cat, only stopping when she was standing right in front of Cat’s office chair, just out of her reach.

And her restraint paid off, because _who else_ could say they’ve seen the Queen of All Media pout like she was at this very moment, lower lip slightly jutted forward, green eyes like saucers, and overall expression not unlike a five-year-old who just found out Santa wasn’t coming this year. No one else, Kara hoped, as she felt the telltale warm feeling spread over her heart and out into her limbs at the sight before her.

She took this opportunity to pluck both pairs of glasses off of Cat, something she’d been dying to do for at least the last hour and a half, and deposited them neatly at the far end of her desk before reaching for the woman herself.

She grabbed Cat gently by the hips and lifted her in one fell swoop onto the surface of that glorious desk, putting them at eye-level with each other as she stepped between Cat’s waiting legs. Kara smiled like a hunter at her prey, as she felt those muscular calves wrap around the backs of her thighs, drawing her in as the sound of Cat’s discarded heels clattered on the office floor behind them. Neither heard or cared though, entirely too focused on each other.

Cat’s hazel eyes had a playful look in them just a moment ago, one that Kara wished she could see more of, but as her hands started to roam over the petite body in her arms, they turned a decidedly darker shade that meant Cat was done playing around. A moment later Kara felt a small, determined hand grab a fistful of her hair, while the other directed her chin towards Cat’s sweet lips.

The moment those lips were on hers, Kara forgot all about where she was or any lingering concerns she might have had about any of this as she pulled Cat flush against her, feeling her small breasts pressing deliciously against her own chest through the fabric of their clothes.

Kara groaned, loudly and unapologetically this time, all the while silently thanking Rao for the concept of Saturdays.

 


	8. Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [these pictures](http://racheltuckerrr.tumblr.com/post/159507480275/it-starts-before-cat-even-admits-her-feelings-to) and Lauren's headcanon.

It starts before Cat even admits her feelings to herself, and way before they give in to this pull that exists between them.

Her usual driver is sick when Cat gets called away on a rainy autumn night for an important business meeting all the way across town, and Kara just happens to be within earshot when she huffs out an irritated sigh about the prospect of having to drive _herself_ , like some lowly peasant. 

The rest, as they say, is history.

After Anthony gets back on his feet and behind the wheel, there is no real need for Kara to drive her again, but for some reason she keeps offering and Cat keeps saying yes. Kara becomes her impromptu chauffeur for many more trips to come, and thus begins the long-standing tradition of The Road Trip.

Kara proves herself to be better company than most, which does not go unnoticed by Cat, and after the second time, she migrates to the passenger side from her usual place in the back, claiming to feel safer about Kara’s insanely sharp turns when she can actually see the road in front of them. Kara only smiles as she offers Cat her morning coffee, and soon, they’re on their way. 

It’s the end of a very long day, and Cat is in the car next to Kara as she stares intently at the road ahead, focused on getting them back to National City safely, as always. The sun is setting over the hills, just left of the rapidly moving car, and Cat can’t take her eyes off Kara, staring at the way the lights from the orange sky reflect on her silhouette.

The next thing she knows, Cat takes her phone out of her purse and snaps a shot of her blonde driver without thinking. It’s for Carter, she says, because he loves the sight of the setting sun. Kara nods and they don’t mention it again.

The next time Cat takes a picture of Kara while driving, it’s because her profile reminds Cat of an actress, _whatshername_ , you know what I mean _Kiera_. Kara doesn’t, but after a while she just stops asking and Cat slowly stops making excuses altogether, but the photos only keep piling up on her phone after that.

It’s only years later, when Alex keeps insisting on taking a roadtrip to see a science exhibiton on the other side of the country, Carter bouncing happily in tow, that the topic accidentally surfaces again. 

Alex calls shotgun and Carter rolls his eyes when he matter-of-factly tells her that that’s not going to happen, throwing a pointed glare in his mother’s general direction. He also mumbles something about Cat’s inability to be trusted with a map, until his mother’s eyes flash dangerously and all Carter says is _two states over_ , Mom. 

At Alex’s confused look, he shrugs and snatches Cat’s phone expertly out of her hands before she can even open her mouth to protest, and wordlessly scrolls through miles and miles of photographic evidence collected over the years, taken in various lights from different angles, but all of them candid portraits of Kara as she sits behind the wheel. 

Alex snorts, then nods once at Carter, eyebrow raised as they pounce at the same time, and soon, she is sitting in the driver’s seat, bumping Carter’s fist as he sits happily next to her, the takeover complete.

Cat finds it hard to complain when she lies comfortably in Kara’s arms on the backseat, looking up at her favourite profile as the gleaming rays of the sun illuminate the face of the woman she loves. 

She only wishes Carter didn’t take her phone away.


	9. Heels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on an actual real life conversation if you can believe it. You know who you are.

“Wow,” Kara said as she opened the door for Cat, finally taking a much needed breath of the fresh, cold night air. “That was…intense.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Cat snickered, already thinking of the hangover she would most likely be sporting come morning. But it would be _so_ worth it. “Though I’m not sure intense is the right word.”

“I don’t think I’m sure of anything right now,” Kara giggled, reaching for Cat as they stumbled out of the alien bar and into the National City night, not exactly drunk enough to actually fall without the support the other offered, but just drunk enough to throw all pretence to the proverbial wind about who and what they were becoming.

It’s been over a month since Supergirl and her team saved the planet from the Daxamite invaders and the Queen was officially back on her throne, almost as if nothing’s changed. Except that it has.

“Well, well, well,” Cat drawled as she held onto Kara’s biceps with both hands, the rest of her sentence quickly getting lost after she did, somewhere in the depths of those infuriatingly blue eyes.

“What is it?” Kara asked gently, hands going to Cat’s hips without any conscious thought.

“Mmm, I had a good time tonight,” Cat finally said, eyes flashing in the dark. “And your sister really is terrible at pool. Not Winslow-bad, obviously, but…bad. Good thing she has a girlfriend to teach her how to play properly.”

“Fiancé,” Kara corrected. “I can’t believe my sister is getting _married_.”

Cat’s answer was only a noncommittal hum as she laced her fingers together behind the hero’s neck, but otherwise stayed silent, seemingly content for the moment.

“I know I’ve said it before, but,” Kara tightened her hands around Cat’s waist, “I am so incredibly happy to have you back.”

“Have me, huh?”

“I didn’t mean –“ Kara stammered, suddenly nervous in the face of her momentary clarity, even with the strong alien liquid courage still coursing through her veins. She didn’t mean to be presumptuous.

But as she moved to draw back from Cat, two slender hands caught her neck and held her firmly in place, and Kara could only blink in surprise and cautious anticipation as the older woman drew her close and finally shut her up with a kiss.

It wasn’t nearly as long as Kara would have liked, but it was sweet and thorough and the way Cat smiled at her after they broke apart was enough to make every part of her tingle for more.

“Okay?” Cat asked quietly, smoothing her thumb over Kara’s bottom lip to remove the little smudge of lipstick there.

Kara didn’t know if she meant the kiss or the implication of it, or another thing entirely, all she knew was she wanted Cat to do that again and soon.

Some distant part of her muddled brain however, was grateful beyond belief that Cat was still thinking at least somewhat clearly, even if she couldn’t anymore.

Definitely not after that kiss.

“Okay,” she said instead, reaching for Cat’s hand at the same time as she did as they started walking down the street with no clear destination in mind. All they knew was they didn’t want the night to end just yet.

That being said Kara could tell Cat was having a hard time walking, what with her usual choice of footwear on top of her countless martinis – and that was _after_ she drunk both Alex Danvers and NCPD’s finest right under the pool table, thank you very much.  

“You want to slow down, maybe?” Kara asked tentatively, knowing full well how likely it was that the woman would admit to even such a mild inconvenience on her own.

“I’m fine, darling,” came the predictable scoff, but her expression soon turned into a spectacular pout as Kara let go of her arm and ran ahead with a wicked expression on her face that was in stark contrast to her usual Sunny Danvers persona.

“That’s cheating, you’re not wearing heels,” Cat called from her spot on the sidewalk, refusing to budge as she crossed her arms over her chest to emphasize her point.

Two could play at this game.

“My point exactly.”

“Oh really?” Cat asked with a sudden glint in her eyes that shone like distant stars, and Kara couldn’t help being pulled right back into her orbit. “That gives me an idea.”

Kara usually prided herself on her ability to anticipate Cat’s every whim, but at that moment, she honestly had no clue what was happening. She blamed it on M’gann and her newest speciality, whatever the hell that was.

Still, when Cat held out a hand as she leaned down, she automatically reached out to support her, only catching up when a pink slingback heel was slipped off of a slender ankle and Cat let out a world-weary sigh as her foot was finally freed from its designer prison.

“I…Cat?”

“What?” hazel eyes twinkled mischievously in her direction. “Don’t tell me you’ve never worn heels before.”

In fact, she hasn’t. Not like those anyway.

“I’m…tall,” Kara fiddled with Cat’s hand in her own, resisting the urge to adjust the glasses that were not on her face. “It never came up.”

“Oh,” was all the reply she got, before Cat shook the intrigued look off her face, filing that piece of information away for further analysis. “You know what, we don’t have to do this. I’m sure there are easier ways to,” she trailed off, gesturing vaguely up at the sky, “ _you know_.”

Kara cleared her throat, hand going back to her face this time, regardless. “I don’t… _drink and fly_ ,” she whispered, as if anyone would hear them.

“Of course not,” Cat said as she slipped back into her shoes with a poise that absolutely should not belong to someone with her current blood alcohol level, and she sighed resignedly. “Then lead the way, Supergirl.”

“Oh, absolutely not,” Kara said after seeing the deep exhaustion settle on Cat’s beautiful features the minute she put her heels back on. That will not do.

Cat opened her mouth to say something, but before she could articulate her thought Kara had already switched out their shoes, and was standing there in, probably freakishly expensive, heels that were just a few sizes too small and had absolutely no business being on her feet, but with a beaming smile on her face nonetheless.

The long, appraising look Cat gave her after she got comfortable in Kara’s flats was enough to convince her that it had been exactly the right move.

Kara sighed as Cat’s hand came to find hers again and they started walking, slowly, slightly leaning into each other, not because they had to, but more because they _could_.

Kara vowed that one day, she would teach the woman next to her to value simple, practical comforts in life a little more, but for the moment she could still appreciate the way the added height difference allowed her to tuck Cat’s head under her chin and place a kiss on the crown of that beautiful head.

And if Kara wobbled slightly as she bent her head to do just that, she was sure no one noticed. 


	10. Catocalypse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: future au where Kara finds Cat or rather her clone. "I'm not her, I'm not your Cat." "I don't care, just let me have this please."

“Cat?”

The name was out of Kara’s mouth before she could stop herself. Her hand reached out of its own volume, before her brain could contradict what her heart thought it already knew. Conscious thought never could manage to override the fierce emotions that Kara carried in her chest even now, after all this time.

She hated the erratic beating of her heart and the nervous butterflies in her stomach as she drew back her hand and watched the small woman with the dirty blonde hair slowly turn around, an unreadable expression on her face.

And if Kara were any less gone, she would have known that despite the obvious differences in her appearance like the ill-fitting, nondescript clothes, the unstyled hair with roots that Cat would have never let see the light of day and the uncharacteristic deer caught in the headlights expression that would have been a foreigner on that face that she knew so well, it still all...fits. Almost too well.

Because no matter what Kara wanted with all her being to believe, even if she knew better, it couldn’t be her. This woman, standing in front of her, looking every bit like the woman Kara had loved for several decades; the woman she still loved with everything left in her…couldn’t be Cat.

Because Cat was dead.

And yet.

“I haven’t been called like that in a few reincarnations,” the woman said in an attempt at dry humour that made Kara ache even more because Cat had been a qualified expert at it. And so many other things.

“But…you _are -_ ? Right?” She needed to know, but she still didn’t dare say it, which should have been the first clue.

There was a moment of excruciating silence, but instead of the agonizing fear that she first expected when she spotted the familiar blonde curls, Kara only felt treacherous hope sidle its way inside through the open sore on her heart.

And she let it.

Hazel eyes narrowed as they looked at one another, before the woman let her shoulders drop and let out a sigh.

“No,” she said promptly, without any of the emotion behind it that Kara felt. It must have shown on her face too, because then the woman who claimed not to be Cat added, “I’m sorry.”

She almost sounded sincere.

Kara wanted to scream. That night at sunset, she hiked up to the hill made of rubber and ash where once stood a familiar building, overlooking the most beautiful skyline, all of which was now only an afterthought amidst the chaos and destruction and uncertainty that was the present. At least to everyone else.

Kara still remembered. How could she not? How could she ever, ever forget? She barely used her powers anymore, since there wasn’t much point. This world was falling apart, with or without her help, and it only hurt her more every time she tried to fight it.

And she did try, for longer than most.

Tears started falling down her cheeks as she floated off the ground, hesitantly at first, but kept going upwards until she counted to forty in her head. When she was at about the right height, Kara stopped right there in midair, and looked.

There were a lot of things she was starting to forget, even with her heightened capacity for recollection, but this particular view was like muscle memory to her. Or at least, what it had once been. There was no trace of it now, none of the familiar buildings or skyscrapers, no Noonan’s on the corner, no nail salon on the opposite side of the road. It was all gone, and fires were burning everywhere in their stead, as far as even the Kryptonian eye could see.

It would have been too much for anyone, even if they were only living it for the first time.

Kara held onto her torn clothes as she hugged herself, suddenly missing her cape as a shiver ran through her that had nothing to do with the temperature, and wept.

 

* * *

 

The next time she saw her, Kara tried again. Maybe she was insane, but what did it matter? With all that she’s been through, she figured she was allowed to be.

“No, I’m not Cat,” she told Kara again, less patient this time. “Whoever she was to you. I know _of_ her, but I’m definitely not her. She’s dead, blondie. Everyone is dead these days, why do you even still care? _Who_ are you?”

“Someone you used to love.”

“Not in this life,” she said truthfully, softening a little at the admission, and it probably hurt even more than if she had stayed indifferent when she repeated her earlier statement, “I’m sorry.”

Kara felt like her heart was being ripped from her chest, which was interesting considering she didn’t think she still had it.

And still, she couldn’t stay away.

“Still not Cat.” “I know.”

That was their new greeting now. If she could step out of her body and leave the asteroid in her chest behind, Kara would almost think it’s funny.

“We’re called unoriginals,” not-Cat tells her rolling her eyes one day, and without the practiced edge to it Kara almost thinks it’s cute. “There are millions like me, dozens of every kind. I escaped before the labcoats could do whatever it is they usually do with someone like me.”

Her eyes widen in fear and surprise both, and it’s clear that she didn’t plan on sharing that information.

“I don’t know why I just told you that.”

Kara doesn’t either, but she hopes it’s a good sign. She could use just one good thing in her life right about now. Maybe she’s looking in the wrong place, but so what?

There aren’t any more places left to look, and for some reason she’s still so desperate to find.

“I know what they’re doing,” Kara grits her teeth. “I’ve known for a while. I tried to stop it, but they keep stealing people, making more. Dissecting them for science, or whatever. I’m not strong enough to stop them by myself.”

“They want the information they think is in my head,” not-Cat puts the pieces together at lightning speed and Kara really tries not to see the journalist in her, but it’s hard to do when she’s right there. She can’t help but wonder if maybe some piece of _her_ Cat is there too. “Well, too bad, cause I don’t have it.”

“Yeah,” she can’t help the sigh, she really can’t. Not-Cat looks at her and Kara can tell she’s angry.

“Don’t make me feel bad about something that’s not my fault.”

She has a point there, but Kara doesn’t know where to put this pain, and Cat was always there to take it from her. She understands how it’s not fair to put the burden of that task on another person though if only it wasn’t so hard to remember that they aren’t one and the same.

Some days it’s easy, and Kara is grateful.

“At least you chose well, I’m sure she was amazing,” not-Cat says and Kara can only hum in agreement. “Or I was, or…whatever.”

Other days it’s near impossible, and while that’s so, so much worse it’s also somehow better.

“Do you really not have any of her memories?”

Not-Cat shakes her head no and it shouldn’t still hurt _this_ much.

Then, for whatever reason she seems to change her mind and quietly tells Kara, leaning closer than she’s ever been before, “But I know you were important to her.”

Kara doesn’t find her tongue fast enough to answer her before she walks away.

 

* * *

 

When she gets wind that the labcoats are taking people again, Kara only has one concern, and it’s not for herself. She finds her huddling with a group of what Kara assumes are other escaped unoriginals under a makeshift shelter that wouldn’t even be enough to hold Kara’s weakened, out-of-practice freeze breath.

This won’t do.

She takes one look at the shaking blonde, takes her hand and whisks her away, slowly gliding through the air until she reaches the safest spot she knows and puts her down. Not-Cat looks up at her with wide eyes, but the questions never come.

Kara laughs at the irony, but it’s hollow and unattractive. Not that it matters. One thing still does though.

“Are you alright?” Kara can’t help but look her over, scanning for injuries. The rattling inside her chest only settles to a manageable simmer when she doesn’t find any.

Those eyes are looking at her again with a cautious calculation, as if trying to determine whether or not Kara is still sane.

“I know we’ve talked about this, but…you do _know_ I’m not her, right? I’m not your Cat.”

There it is again.

“I don’t care!” Kara screams desperately, at the very end of her rope.

“You’re the worst liar I’ve ever met, this side of forever,” not-Cat says with a fire in her eyes that resembles someone she claims not to be way too much for Kara to keep her tears at bay for one moment longer.

“Just…let me have this,” she whispers, looking at the ground instead of those way too familiar eyes that still want to keep her away. Even if it isn’t the same Cat who knew her, Kara still can’t face her rejection, even now. “Please.”

She feels her own tears drip down on her clothes, but Kara still can’t look up. The possibility of having this last connection to the woman who meant more to her than her own life being severed forever is more than what Kara thinks she can handle.

If there is no more Cat, she might as well fly into the sun now, before the world ends anyway, because she is obviously no help to anyone else. She knows because she’d tried.

She’d tried and she’s failed. Failed them all, one by one.

Alex. Eliza. Clark. Winn.

 _Cat_.

All gone. Because for all her powers, Kara is not enough anymore. Not in the face of so much loss. She was already barely hanging by a thread after she lost them all, but if not-Cat turns her away, Kara thinks she might actually cease to exist as that last fickle of light leaves her universe.

She can’t look up. She just can’t.

Then suddenly, miraculously, there is a gentle touch on the crown of her head and it feels so familiar that Kara crumbles. But instead of hitting the ground, there are small arms circling her body and the sobbing girl can’t help but sink into the embrace, no longer coherent enough to hold herself back.

Slender fingers are drifting through her hair, and it’s more hesitant than Cat would be with her, but Kara soaks it up all the same, especially knowing that this might be all she is granted.

When she finally does open her eyes, she almost closes them again, because if she didn’t know any better she really would think this is the same woman she used to share everything with. In that moment, Kara realizes she doesn’t just look like Cat, but she looks _at her_ like Cat would too.

“I wasn’t going to tell you this, because I know how it sounds, but...they actually did name me after her.”

Kara chokes on her tears, but when she clutches the other woman close, the arms around her only tighten their hold. What if…

“I guess if you want to, you can call me Catherine.”

Maybe it shouldn’t give her so much hope, but for the first time in a long time, Kara feels like something is finally beginning, instead of ending for a change. 


End file.
